Rise Against, Dropkick Murphys, Coheed and Cambria, A Wilhelm Scream, Minus the Bear, Hot Water Music, The Story So Far, Cursive, Iggy and The Stooges, Gogol Bordello, Alkaline Trio, Elvis Costello and The Imposters, The Jesus and Mary Chain, NOFX, and Chiodos performed at Humboldt Park in Chicago, Illinois, on September 15 and 16, 2012, as part of Riot Fest.

Riot Fest was a fantastic weekend, with a well-planned and easy-to-navigate stage setup, wonderful sound, long set times, cheap drinks, fantastic local food, plentiful bathrooms, friendly crowds, and a cheap ticket price. In comparison to the much larger (but fairly similar) Bamboozle, Riot Fest was leaps and bounds stronger in every meaningful way, scoring extra points for a ridiculously solid lineup, headlined each night by real rock bands and not fleeting pop acts.

This contains complete setlists for each performer as well as a quick rating of the band’s setlist selection and overall song quality (“songs”) and their live show that day (“performance”). Some great bands I didn’t manage to catch also performed during this weekend, including Descendents, The Gaslight Anthem, Slapstick, Built to Spill, and The Promise Ring.

A Wilhelm ScreamMute Print
(unidentified song)
(new song “Gut”)
Me Vs. Morrissey In the Pretentiousness Contest (The Ladder Match)
Famous Friends and Fashion Drunks
The Horse
I Wipe My Ass With Showbiz
The Rip
The King Is Dead

Songs: Great
Performance: Great

Coheed and Cambria
No World for Tomorrow
Blood Red Summer
The Suffering
Ten Speed (Of God’s Blood and Burial)
Key Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitute
Devil in Jersey City
Everything Evil
Sentry the Defiant
A Favor House Atlantic
In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
Welcome Home

Songs: Great
Performance: Great

Dropkick Murphys
The State of Massachusetts
Captain Kelly’s Kitchen
Which Side Are You On?
Citizen C.I.A.
Going Out In Style
The Gauntlet
(unidentified song)
(new song “The Boys are Back”)
(new song “Echo”)
(new song “Lost Your Way”)
The Irish Rover
Your Spirit’s Alive
(new song “Rose Tattoo”)
Worker’s Song
I’m Shipping Up to Boston
TNT (AC/DC cover)

Songs: Great
Performance: One of the best of the weekend

Rise AgainstHelp Is on the Way
Alive and Well
Re-Education (Through Labor)
Blood-Red, White & Blue
Ready to Fall
Everchanging
Wait for Me
Satellite
Like the Angel
Prayer of the Refugee
Give It All
For Fiona (No Use for a Name cover) (acoustic)
Jealous Again (Black Flag cover)
Savior

Songs: Great
Performance: One of the best of the weekend

Chiodos
Thermacare
Two Birds Stoned at Once
There’s No Penguins in Alaska
Bulls Make Money, Bears Make Money, Pigs Get Slaughtered
A Letter From Janelle
All Nereids Beware
Is It Progression If a Cannibal Uses a Fork?
Baby, You Wouldn’t Last a Minute on the Creek
The Undertaker’s Thirst For Revenge Is Unquenchable (The Final Battle)
The Words “Best Friend” Become Redefined

Songs: Good
Performance: Great

NOFX
60%
We Called It America
Perfect Government (Mark Curry cover)
Murder the Government
I’m Telling Tim
Instant Crassic
Can’t Get the Stink Out
See Her Pee
I Wanna Be an Alcoholic
Franco Un-American
Seeing Double at the Triple Rock
Linoleum
I Believe in Goddess
Eat the Meek
Stickin’ in My Eye
Leave It Alone
Louise
Eat the Meek (with Angelo Moore)
The Man I Killed
The Moron Brothers
Dinosaurs Will Die
What Now My Love? (Herb Alpert cover)
The Separation of Church and Skate
Bottles to the Ground
Kill All The White Man

Iggy and the Stooges
Raw Power
Search and Destroy
Gimme Danger
Shake Appeal
1970
Fun House
Night Theme
Beyond the Law
I Got a Right
I Wanna Be Your Dog
Open Up and Bleed
Penetration
No Fun
The Passenger
Cock in My Pocket